[UNChoops93]

Hi All! My family and I recently moved to CT from Colorado. We have been renting a home in Madison while we explore the state a little and figure out what town might be a good fit for us. We are really enjoying Madison. It's beautiful and the people have been great. We love being near the water and the schools seem to have very high ratings. So....what's not to love?? Well, we are thinking we are a little "out of our league" here, and since we are looking to spend under $500,000 for a house we feel it might make sense to look elsewhere. We love Guilford, but it seems to be missing a beach. And although the prices in Old Saybrook seem pretty comparable to Madison, there just seems to be less of an elite feel to the town......maybe I am wrong. Either way, I am curious about the town. I have not yet been to the town beach or Harvey's Beach. Does anyone know how it compares to the Surf Club in Madison? From what I have read it sounds like the beaches get pretty crowded. Also, their high school website is pretty bare when it comes to describing the academics. I have checked the school's profile generated by the CT D. of Ed., but I am wondering if there is a way to get more specific information, like specific AP courses offerered. Any contact person at the high school that might be helpful? Thanks so much for any advice.

[Hartford896]

See direct message sent to you. I know the town well.

[JayCT]

Old Saybrook is more of a seasonal town than Madison. Madison is an upscale suburb of New Haven where Old Saybrook is a beach town that see a large increase in populaiton in the summer months due to a large number of summer cottages. You are correct that the beaches do get a bit crowded in the summer and the town definitely sees an increase in traffic/people during the warm months. Some people love this, some hate it. Only you can tell if this is a problem for you. Have you checked into some of the other nearby towns? Branford comes to mind as well as Clinton or Westbrook. I hope this helps, Jay

[kristin1]

I would take another look at Guilford if I were you. Yes, it doesn't have great beaches, but really the beach is only usable a few months out of the year. Guilford does have a nice beach for younger kids (Jacob's Beach) but the older ones usually want to go to Hamonassett. Unless you are planning on living within walking distance of the beach, I think Guilford would be a great choice. Also, we have the lake in North Guilford, which is great for young kids.

Also keep in mind the conveniences of Madison/ Guilford, as well as the bigger conveniences in Milford are that much farther away.

We did look at Old Saybrook when we moved here, but felt it was an there was more of a community feel in Guilford. Old Saybrook has a large retirement population too, and we weren't looking for that since we have a fairly young family.

[UNChoops93]

Thank you all......I guess I have one other question which might help to ease our stress a little bit. As far as the real estate market is concerned (and I know things are less than typical during this difficult economic time) will there be more inventory in the spring? We keep hearing what a terrific time it is to buy a house, but we are not seeing a huge inventory of homes in the $500,000 range. Of course, we haven't connected with a realtor yet, so that might be a first step. Either way, thanks for your advice.

[glxyman21]

I would considered Old Saybrook to be a more down to earth town and it definatly doesn't have the "elite" feeling that Madison would. There is a lot more in the way of commercial development as well for local shopping needs. The housing is definatly cheaper than Madison, especially if buying a house "inland" without beach rights. Madison's inland housing stock is still quite expensive overall. As far as I know, there are only the two public beaches you mentioned and they can get a bit crowded at times. The town does have many beach associations - neighborhoods that can share a beach, but only residents of those neighborhoods are allowed in. These typically cost more and require a yearly or monthly fee for maintenance of the beaches, etc. The homes also tend to be smaller and older. I don't think you should have any concerns over the schools, they recently just expanded the high school and the scores are above average.

[SailCT]

Madison's Hand H.S. is a top-notch HS. It offers great academics with joint programs with both Yale and other area colleges. It also has a great sports program. I think it offers about 16+ HS sports. Old Saybrook is very nice, but it is definitely an older community; full of retirees and summer cottages. The town is essentially run by retirees; so very little priority is given to issues affecting younger families. They have done a great job in recent years sprucing up their parks and public spaces. Part of the problem with the HS sports programs is they just don't have the numbers of kids needed. Are you still in Madison or have you moved? You might want to check-out Glastonbury which is up Route 9 closer to Hartford; it is awesome and very down-to-earth; some friends of mine moved there a few years ago and love it.